The Royal We
by Lady Vicca
Summary: Mayonaka Rei suddenly finds herself tangled in her new school's dangerous web and to get through it, she has to learn to play by its sick sets of rules; something that, she quickly learns, is not easy. Akatsuki. Konoha. Oto.
1. Beginning is the End is the Beginning

**Disclaimer:** I don't own _Naruto_.

Story title taken from song 'The Royal We' by the Silversun Pickups; chapter title taken from song 'The Beginning is the End is the Beginning' by Smashing Pumpkins.

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_Full Summary: _When Mayonaka Rei entered the prestigious boarding school of Senju Academy, she never expected to find herself tangled in the school's dangerous and full of predators web. But in order to get through this whole, freaky mess, she has to learn to play by the dominating groups' sick sets of rules; something that, she quickly finds out, is not easy. AU.

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**The Royal We**

_Chapter One: The Beginning is the End is the Beginning_

The first thought that went through Mayonaka Rei's mind as she stood at the main entrance of the Senju Academy was that what she was looking at couldn't possibly be a school, but more a freaking emperor's castle. She hated to admit that she actually felt quite intimidated by its grand black gates and imposing brick buildings – only the front office seemed bigger than her entire previous school had been. The thick path leading to it was made of perfectly-shaped pebbles, seemingly put haphazardly, with it occasionally leading sideways to probably other buildings, and from what she could see, medium-sized courtyards with benches internally lining them. Freshly-mown grass covered the entire area around the pathways and flowered hedges surrounded the main building, with many types and sizes of trees filling the clean fields. They would surely be able to grant her some very good resting places and it was absolutely beautiful.

Moving to such a preppy school while she was definitely not used to anything like this would have been bad enough, had Rei not moved in the middle of May when the school year had already been active for almost a month and a half. It would only make people wonder, and that would draw unwanted attention to herself. Rei usually didn't care about being the centre of attention, but Ritsuko had made her promise that she would keep to herself as to avoid getting into trouble. Not that she couldn't make friends or anything; just watch out and lay low. Which didn't exactly fit her persona because she sure as hell didn't like taking crap from anyone if someone tried to bother her, but if it made Ritsuko happy… The least she could do was try to hold her tongue.

Deciding she'd spent enough time gaping at the front entrance, Rei shouldered her rather large bag into a better position, took a deep breath and set to walking. While striding on the cobblestoned pathway, she was able to take a better look around the _prestigious school_ than her first vision had granted her. Far behind the main building she was walking towards she could see a couple of other – and much bigger – brick buildings, with some woods located beyond the one on the left; what looked like a trekking field, a beautiful garden, a grand water fountain that seemed larger than her house and benches put into strategically places. Rei had never seen anything like this before, this regal, this glamorous, this _royal_. At least, not live. She was still trying to decide if she liked it or not, because while it was gorgeous, no denying it, it was a _bit_ too much for her.

After a five-minute trek to which Rei was quickly getting tired of, she finally reached the front office and noticed the huge white windows that adorned the walls of the two-story-high building. She only hesitated for a moment before pushing the grand oak double-doors open and walking in.

Once she was fully inside, Rei almost gasped at the sheer beauty of the room. The big room she'd walked in was amazing: it had an extremely high ceiling with a great crystal chandelier hanging from the middle of it; beige flowered wallpaper adorned the walls with an elaborated design for baseboard and the floor was carpeted a creamy color. There was a waiting area to the right with soft-looking black leather couches and a glass table with a meticulously organized tea set ready to be used. There were doors all over the walls and a long corridor to the right, but her attention was on the reception counter at the far wall. Rei felt strangely nervous by simply looking at the kind-looking lady sitting behind the wooden counter as if she held all the answers to the unfortunate future she now had to live. She hated feeling this way: Mayonaka Rei just didn't get nervous. She almost wanted to punch herself for being such a wimp. This was just a school, not a walk into Hell.

Rolling her eyes at herself, and gaining strength from the act, Rei walked towards the counter. She couldn't help but feel slightly bad for walking all over the clean carpeted floor with her dirty-soled shoes. But oh well. It was not like it was her problem anyway.

Once she reached her destination, the kind brunette gave Rei a cheery smile that looked awfully plastic. Rei couldn't really blame her; only a few minutes into this school, and she already felt overwhelmed with all its wealth-y-ness. Being here for what could possibly be a year probably had its toll on the young secretary.

"Hello there," the brunette greeted, smiling even wider. Rei wondered if her cheeks hurt from smiling so much. "How may I help you?"

"Er – I'm Mayonaka Rei and-"

"Oh, of course!" the secretary interrupted, an unprofessionally excited look in her eyes. "The new student. I already have your things organized right here." She stood up from her leather chair, went over a board filled with keys on the wall, took a silver one and picked up a small, neat pile of papers from under it. She came back and sat down. Rei found it odd to notice she was wearing a black pencil skirt and a short-sleeved white-collared shirt that looked terribly expensive. She hadn't been expecting something so… _fancy_. This was a school, for Christ's sake; what was the need for such extravagant clothes? "Okay, so this is all you're going to need. I have here your schedule, a map of the whole school grounds, including the dorms, and the key to your room."

She handed them all to Rei, who examined it thoughtfully. Good thing they gave her a map; she had a feeling this place could be like a maze.

"Your uniform and baggage have already been sent to your room," the woman said, handing Rei a few papers to sign, "which is number 326 on the sixth floor."

Rei nodded, finished signing and gave the papers back. Hosting up the bag she'd previously left on the floor, she tried to smile as cheerfully as possible. "Thanks for your help."

The secretary waved her off with another of her weird smiles. "Not at all, dear. And before you go, the principal told me to give you this note." She gave the girl a small slip of paper, then a last smile and promptly looked back down, clearly dismissing the younger girl. Rei took that as her cue to leave.

_You don't belong here. Be careful and have a good term_, the note said.

Once safely out of hearing distance, the fifteen-year-old girl let out the annoyed growl that had been threatening to escape her throat and set to the ten-minute walk towards the dorms. Really, Ritsuko had already busted enough warnings into her head not even half an hour ago and now the principal had to come and antagonize her too? And _yeah_, she already knew very well, thank you very much, that she didn't belong here. Okay, maybe she was exaggerating, but she seriously had already heard enough. It was like they thought she was a baby, incapable of understanding it all the first time. Of course she understood where this was all coming from, after _that _happened, but still! Damn it, it was all so bothersome.

Ritsuko was blowing things out of proportion; nothing was going to happen. And it wasn't like anything exciting could even occur in this stupid school. She was sure she was going to be bored out of her mind with all those irritating classes and snobbish students, and soon her guardian's worries would be proven idiotic. Or at least, that's what Rei tried to tell herself. For whatever reason, she felt like this year would be like nothing else she'd ever experienced. Whether it would be good or bad, Rei had no idea.

Rei rubbed at the back of her head, the hood of her hoodie slipping a little, frustrated for having to face such ridiculous problems. Being nervous for being in this freaky preppy school when she didn't even want to be here in the first place and having to suppress her tongue weren't exactly something she was happy with. Sure, it was her fault for moving, but if she had had any idea this was where she was moving to, she'd have controlled herself better.

Finally reaching the dorms – after being stared at by the walking by students and being once again astonished by the massive size of the school buildings she passed by –, surprisingly tired, Rei used the excuse of studying the twin buildings so she could regain her breath. It was much, much bigger than the front office was and they were connected by a large, ground-floor level area which was, she assumed, a common room between the two dorms.

Everything was just so superior, so high-classed, so expensive-looking, and so… _elite_. It all made her feel inexplicably uneasy and she almost wanted to yell out a big 'screw this', leave and never come back to this place she felt so alienated to.

With a long-suffering sigh, Rei walked over the wooden double-doors of the brick building on the left with the 'Girls' Dormitory' sign, not really paying attention to her surroundings. She felt incredibly tired and all she could think about was the comfortable bed (of course it'd be comfortable – as if this freaky school would let the students down over _beds_) awaiting her in her new room. Sleep-deprived as she was, she didn't notice the person coming from her right until she'd crashed soundly into a hard body with enough force to send her sprawling none-too-gracefully on the floor.

Rei saw stars for a moment or two while a decidedly male voice cursed angrily from above her. _He's worse than a sailor, _she thought amusedly, when the string of swearwords coming from him kept going. Seriously, she'd never heard someone curse so much in such a small span of time and over something so frivolous.

Now that she'd mentioned it, why was he so angry? It wasn't like accidents didn't happen sometimes. The sunlight was coming right from behind him so the girl couldn't discern what he looked like, other than that he was tall. Opening her mouth to tell him to chill out and help her up already when he just stood there yelling swearwords to anyone who would listen, something in particular he said caught her attention.

"-fucking watch where you're going, goddammit, is it really so fucking hard? Seriously, you stupid little bitch-"

Jaw dropping at the clear insult, Rei jumped to her feet, feeling rage bubble up, dangerously close to coming out. How dare he? Going around calling her a bitch like that and blaming the whole little incident on her! It was preposterous! They'd both crashed, not only her. And then freaking calling her a bitch out of nowhere? What in the world, really? She so wanted to kick and punch some sense into the little bastard for being such an asshole. The fact that she might be exaggerating a little too completely escaped her mind.

But instead of doing just what she dearly wished, Rei kept a calm façade, only an eyebrow quirked in annoyance, waiting for the bastard to shut up. Her eyes narrowed when he just continued to offend her like there was no tomorrow, clearly oblivious to her building irritation.

Deciding she'd had enough, Rei cut him off in a clipped tone, "Will you stop bitching already? It's getting very annoying."

That seemed to shock him into silence because for a moment he just stood there, his mouth opened a little from what she could see from his outline in the sun. But then he moved to the side and she had to exert every bit of self-control she had not to widen her eyes when his face finally came into view.

It was just as much as of his beautiful looks as his suffocating-ly threatening demeanor that made her gulp down nervously. There was something… off about him that worried her. Sure, his silky-looking slicked back silver hair was absolutely awesome; his violet eyes the prettiest thing she'd ever seen; his pale skin seemed so smooth she actually wondered what it would feel like under her fingertips and his tall, lean and strong body – she swore she could see a six-pack under his rather tight shirt – was just begging to be touched, but there was something about him that put Rei on edge, as if she wasn't exactly sure where she stood with him.

"Did you just say I was bitching?" he hissed menacingly and Rei hated herself for the soft tingling of fear that started at the base of her stomach. His eyes seemed oddly wild, like he was barely under control and could hurt her at a moment's notice.

Rei stared him calmly in the eye, though, her inner turmoil never showing through with a smile on her face. "Are you deaf as well as blind and stupid?"

He snarled and took a step closer to her, eyes burning fiercely, standing so close Rei would have been able to inhale into his scent had she not stopped breathing the moment he'd started moving. She couldn't understand why she felt so wary of him; it was so weird. He almost seemed like the type of 'bark too much, no bite', but she could tell that wasn't it. He just gave off a vibe that was at the same time frightening and… _alluring_.

Damn him for being so good-looking.

She resisted the urge to move away from him – she could feel the body heat coming from him –, more out of spite than anything else and was glad she did so when he spoke, "You've got some backbone, bitch, I'll give you that." A crude smirk made its way onto his face and his eyes wandered down her form appreciatively. "And more than backbone, too, I see."

Rei's eyes widened in shock and he laughed cruelly at her badly disguised discomfort. Was this guy bipolar, or something? Seriously, what the hell? Not to be outdone by the arrogant prick in front of her, though, the raven-haired girl took a deep breath and looked him head-set in the eye.

"Are you sure you should be calling me that?" she asked, glad when her voice didn't shake, idly picking at her nails. "After the little show you put up and all."

The boy – young man, really – immediately stopped cackling to glare heatedly at her. Rei let a small triumphant smile appear on her face. Damn, it felt good to shut him up like that; she'd have to think up some new ways because the bastard was already opening his mouth again to reply. God, couldn't he keep quiet for one second?

"It's like you have a fucking death wish or something," he commented, an eyebrow raised. Shit, why did he have to look so good like that? "Don't you know who I am?"

The girl frowned almost imperceptibly. What was that supposed to mean? Was he an important person in this school or something? She mentally groaned at the thought. It would be just her luck to piss off the school's little ice-prince. At least, in her defense, he'd been a jerk first.

Both of her brows went up. "Should I?"

He only stared for a moment, as if he wasn't sure whether she was messing with him or not. Well buddy, Rei really wasn't. She had absolutely no idea who the fuck-face in front of her could be.

"Do you live under a rock or something?" he wondered at last, gazing at her weirdly. Rei wasn't sure she wanted to know why she should know who he was. She doubted it would be for a good reason. He then rolled his eyes. "So, fucking apologize already, so I can leave. I might even forget your little tantrum, bitch."

Indignantly, Rei stepped back, curling her hands into tight fists at her sides. She wasn't a fucking child for him to talk in such a patronizing tone. Fuming, she demanded, "What the hell is that supposed to mean? It wasn't my fault!"

He seemed pleased that she'd gotten too uncomfortable to keep that close to him, but that was quickly taken over by outrage after she was done speaking. He was such a bastard. "You fucking crashed into me!" he nearly yelled, and Rei almost wanted to take another step back, afraid he would swing at her or something. _God_, she was such a wimp. "It was your entire goddamn fault for not fucking watching where you were going!"

Throwing caution to the wind, Ritsuko's warnings all but faded into the back of her mind. "_My_ fault? It was as much yours as mine! If you had been watching _your_ way, we wouldn't have crashed either," Rei glowered, eyes flashing dangerously. Sure, he made her uncomfortable and his murderous gaze right now looked nothing short of frightening, but _as if_ she'd let him push her around like _that_.

His violet eyes narrowed. "Look," he started like he was about to do her a huge favor he was not completely comfortable with. Just from _that_ tone, Rei knew nothing good was about to come. "Let's just go for a quick fuck and I'll think about letting you off the damn hook."

Rei didn't react right away, mostly because she wasn't sure whether she'd heard him right. Because seriously, was it possible for this guy to become any more of an asshole? She hadn't thought it was, but then he'd gone and said _that_. First, they'd collided and he'd acted like it was all her fault and then had had the gall to ask her if she planned on saying sorry anytime soon and treat her like a little kid. And when she'd called him on it, _he freaking told her to have sex with him like he was being nice to her so they'd be even?_

Oh no. Oh _fucking_ no.

Fully disregarding her heavy bag she'd planned on using as a defense earlier at her feet, Rei brought her right fist back, ready to punch him, but he caught her hand at the last second, almost as if on reflex. Not missing a beat, Rei swung her other hand and punched him across the face with as much force as she could muster. Yes, she punched him because slapping was for pansies. He jerked back, his pretty purple eyes wide, an emotion passing and hands immediately going to the spot she'd hit him. Rei mentally smirked in victory, happy she'd been able to catch him off his guard. _Or_, she thought wildly, _he's just a masochist and what flashed in his eyes when I hit him was pleasure and he is now relishing in the pain. Maybe he wanted me to hit him all along._

…

Nah, that couldn't be it.

But well, if it was shock, it wasn't like she'd been expecting to punch him either.

Regaining his footing after stumbling slightly, the silver-haired guy looked back at her with a glare that promised a _lot_ of pain and a _lot_ of agony. Had he gazed at her moments before like he was doing now, she'd probably have shivered in incontrollable fear, but as it was she so was pissed at him for treating her like a whore, she barely noticed it.

If Rei had considered him threatening before, it was nothing on how dangerous he was right now.

Anger and pride made her stupid so she grinned widely in jubilation at the growing bruise on his face. This only made him even more furious, but Rei didn't care. Then suddenly his icy hands were around her wrists like death's grip, pushing her until her back hit a tree forcefully she hadn't even realized was close. To say she was rather out of breath and wide-eyed would be an understatement. Her back was groaning in protest.

Hands held down by her sides, Rei looked up at him and took a moment to study his enraged face. She frowned at the clear exhilaration in his eyes, not wanting to admit it actually worried her. Really, it wasn't normal for such a masculine guy like him to be happy after he'd just been punched by a girl younger than him. Adrenaline was still going wild inside of her, which was a good thing, so this way she could steer her mind away from the slight fear growing quickly inside of her.

The guy leaned down until his warm, thin lips were right next to her ear. They barely touched, but her breathing hitched slightly all the same and Rei knew he noticed when his lips pulled up in a perverse smile against her goose bumped skin. Thankfully, his body wasn't touching hers. Yet, at least.

"You little whore," he murmured softly, his gentle tone almost contradicting his words. Almost. "Don't you fucking realize how many bitches would die to be on the end of my little offer?"

Rei didn't want to think someone could be so stupid as to accept something as demeaning as that, so she growled. "What a bunch of shit-heads," she scathed, forcing her shoulders forward hard to push him away. He staggered back, his grip on her wrists slackening and she took that as her cue to step away from him. She practically ran towards her bag, ready to actually use it this time if necessary. Maybe she could strangle him with it?

"You've really got backbone, bitch," he admitted, admired. Then, he leered confidently at her, "You're soon gonna be one of those 'shit-heads', my little whore. Just you fucking wait."

"As if I'd ever let a pansy like you screw me," she snorted derisively.

It seemed like Rei knew exactly how to push his buttons because he snarled with a viciousness that shocked her. Damn, he sounded like a starving wolf. Uh oh, and he was probably starving after her blood. Just as he moved as to reach out towards her, a large tanned hand suddenly had a hold on the violet-eyed guy by the scruff of his neck, pulling him back and consequently stopping him. Rei glanced up the dark muscular arm, relief flowing through her, to find an even taller guy than the one with silver hair, his eyes cold and dangerous.

And damn it, what was it with hot guys giving off creepy vibes? Wait a sec, where had that even come from?

The new comer had longish, shaggy dark brown hair, blood-shot eyes of the most vivid green she'd ever seen and flawless skin of a rich and beautiful dark color. He was muscular, that much was obvious even through his clothes and Rei could feel the drool gathering in her mouth. He wasn't really all that good-looking, but like the silver-haired guy, some sort of enticement hung around him. Everything about him seemed to scream 'don't mess with me, or I'll make you suffer' and his dark demeanor was so menacing it was smothering, so it shouldn't make sense for her to feel attracted to him, but it seemed that danger was turn on for her.

... Well, guess you found new things about yourself every day.

However, what really caught her attention about him were the stitches stretching from the corners of his mouth up until below his ears.

Hold on, what the hell?

It took her a moment to realize they were actually tattoos. She was glad because if he'd had to really stitch his face like that something very painful would have had to take place. A 'what-the-fuck' moment happened within her immediately after, while she puzzled over why in the world the thought that the hot Goth kid could have been hurt should have worried her.

Maybe because Rei had a feeling whoever could have gotten that close to harm him that way would have probably suffered a great deal later.

Oh well.

"Hidan," the dark-skinned guy spoke emotionlessly, and his voice was incredibly deep and booming, just like thunder. "What are you still doing here?"

The silver-haired guy – Hidan, she'd just heard – shot the taller guy an annoyed glare, obviously not happy with having been denied his 'meal'.

Well, wasn't that a cheerful thought.

Hidan shrugged the other guy's hand off, his peeved expression becoming slightly confused.

"Oy Kakuzu, what the fuck?" the violet-eyed boy scowled. "I was just about to teach this little whore a lesson!"

Kakuzu, as Hidan had called him, hardly seemed to hear the other's loud words, not even sparing Rei a glance which didn't do much to her ego. Come on, he could have at least peeked from the corner of his awesome eyes; was that too much to ask? She wanted to pout at his clear dismissal of her, even though she probably should be grateful. He was scary as hell and was trying to take Hidan, another crazie, away from her. She just really wished that he would look at her.

Shit, was this the beginning of a Stockholm Syndrome?

"That's hardly important," drawled an unfazed Kakuzu. "We have a place to be right now." He stepped away from Hidan, turned on his heels and started to leave. When Hidan didn't follow him straightaway, he stopped, impatience flicking through his eyes. "Let's go, Hidan."

This time he didn't stop, and if Rei were Hidan she'd have ran after him from the very beginning. This Kakuzu guy looked like he could break her in a half with one of his pinkies and Rei didn't consider herself to be a pushover. She usually could handle herself just fine and even kick some ass while at it, but the stitched guy – well, Hidan too, most likely – was just something out of this world and definitely not in a good way.

"Kakuzu, stop fucking ordering me around as if I'm your little bitch!" Hidan hollered ferociously at his companion's retreating back, who didn't even pause. The silver-haired man then turned back to face her, an impossibly large and wicked grin on his face, his eyes aggressively gleeful. Rei blinked, wondering if he really was bipolar. He didn't say anything, which seemed almost weird for him, but waved cheekily at her and turned tail after Kakuzu.

Just when Rei thought Hidan had decided to ignore her from now on, he called from over his shoulder joyously, "This isn't over, bitch!"

It was a promise; she could feel it in her gut. She didn't leave right then, staring at their backs, feeling sort of numb. She only stood there for almost five minutes, not sure of what to do, her mind trying to make sense of what had happened.

Then, everything seemed to catch up with her.

Eyes narrowed in anger, the raven didn't bother to answer and walked determined towards the double-doors of the Girls' Dormitory, almost smashing said doors off of their hinges in her haste. She wanted to scream in exasperation, frustration and most of all, rage at what had just transpired. Now that they were gone, she was able to think more clearly and she hated herself for having acted like such a weakling. Okay sure, she'd punched Hidan for being such a prick, but had it been anyone else – besides Kakuzu, her mind supplied – she'd have just told him to fuck off in the very beginning.

But no. Something had held her back. Their very presences had held her back and being so helpless like that around someone like Hidan made her want to hit her face in the thick wooden door for letting them walk all over her like that.

The worst of all, however, Rei thought grimly with a grimace, was that in all her meekness she'd still did the very thing Ritsuko had warned her against. She had drawn attention to herself and in such a manner, nonetheless. She groaned softly, resenting herself and knowing that if Ritsuko heard of this she'd be pissed. Rei had never actually seen Ritsuko mad, and wished it would stay that way. She guessed the older woman would be very scary if angry. Rei would just have to try to keep to herself as much as possible from now on.

Deciding to think over the rest later, Rei almost missed the building's interior décor. It looked a lot like a five-star hotel's lobby, of course, with many expensive-looking couches and armchairs around centre tables, study tables and a big notice's board. Noise came from beyond the glass double-doors to her right and looking through it, she saw a bunch of other students scattered around the room.

There was a staircase in the back and two elevators, one open and ready for her. Rei didn't waste her chance and practically ran towards the fancy elevator, not wanting to tire herself even more than she already was – especially after the little encounter. She pushed the 'six' button and leaned back against the wall, admired that even the elevator looked like it was worth millions. Before long, the doors opened again and Rei left the elevator. She soon realized the numbering on this floor started at 301, so quickly found her room which was number 326.

She took out the key from her pocket and unlocked the door. She got inside and resisted the urge to bite her lip once the scenario gave her an annoying reminder. Damn it, it had completely escaped her that she would be sharing a room with another girl. Shit. Life just wasn't fair, was it? Thankfully, there was no one in there at the moment, as she really wasn't in the mood for introductions.

Sighing, Rei walked towards the unoccupied single bed and plopped down on it unceremoniously. A groan of satisfaction pierced the silence, her limbs happy to meet such a comfortable bed after being so tense the whole day. Hmm, it was so soft…

A few minutes later, the black-haired girl forced her eyes to open, knowing she should check her things before even thinking of napping. The girl yawned and sat up, pushing back her hood and trying to tame her unruly short dark locks without much success. She gave up not soon after, her short braid all messed up; stood up and took a look around.

Right next to her bed, there was a pretty black bedside table with a small lamp, and a little farther, a study desk and a rather big wardrobe on the other side of the bed. Looking over the rest of the room, Rei saw there was similar furniture for the other girl. All in all, it was a pretty nice dorm, if not a little plain. The walls were mostly white, except for the one behind the red-covered bed which was a pale blue and the floor was carpeted a creamy color. The bathroom was closest to her bed which made her roll her eyes in resignation. She hated being woken up in the morning by unfit noises which was what was bound to happen. It would probably be foolish to hope for a shy and quiet roommate, who would be too timid to even think of waking the raven up.

Rei entered the bathroom to wash her face and grimaced when she saw her reflection. Damn, she looked absolutely terrible. There were dark rings under her dull and tired grey eyes and her skin was so pale, it seemed translucent, her dark hair all over the place and standing out more than usual, while her normally pink lips were colorless and rather chapped. She made a face at herself, making mental note to get a good night's sleep tonight, or even take a nap soon, and went to check her bags that had arrived earlier in her wardrobe.

Rei did a quick count and made a satisfied sound in the back of her throat when she confirmed everything was there. She sat on the floor with closet's door opened before her and contemplated unpacking. It didn't take her long to decide she was not in the mood for such a boring chore. The grey-eyed girl leaned back and reached out to pick up the papers the creepy lady had given her. She grabbed the map and studied it, wondering what to do. She'd have to explore sometime, so she wouldn't have to walk around with a map constantly under her nose tomorrow. It was lunchtime on a Sunday; tomorrow she already had classes first thing in the morning, and it would probably be good to have a bit of an idea of where some things were, but right now she only wanted to rest.

And after that mentally and physically exhausting meeting, who could blame her?

Rei slithered herself up on the bed, kicked her shoes off her feet and brought the comfy pillow under her head. Her eyes were already dropping tiredly, but her mind was still way too awake.

Rei had known from the moment Ritsuko had said 'you're going to Senju Academy' that her life was in for a change. That period of her life was now over and a new beginning was in the horizon. Not that she liked it, of course, but it wasn't like she could say no. She had also known that things here would be drastically different from everything she was used to, but still… This had not been what she'd had in mind. She hadn't expected to end up in a school that looked like it should house the Queen, nor the fact that some of its students looked – and maybe even were – more dangerous than the students of her previous public and full of yakuza kids school. Really, what the hell?

And now she'd gone and pissed off the sadistic Hidan, who most likely could make her new life in this weirdo place a living hell.

It was with this not-so-happy thought that Rei fell asleep, restlessness and anger her constant companions.

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_A/N:_ Ok, I know most people don't really like OCs... But I simply couldn't seem to fit anyone else as a protagonist (and I've _tried_ - Sakura just wasn't doing so well) and Rei has already become a part of my heart. Give her a chance, will you? (: But please, _do_ tell if she's acting like a Mary-Sue. I know how much those are annoying and I'd hate for Rei to be like that.

But, anyway. I would love to hear your thoughts, even the bad ones, so don't hesitate to review! Constructive criticism is greatly appreciated, just no flames please (:

Chapter 2 is already written, so depending on the response to this, it will be put up some time during next week, most likely... Not sure yet.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!

_vicca_


	2. Bad Reputation

**Disclaimer: **I don't own _Naruto_.

Chapter title taken from song 'Bad Reputation' by Joan Jett and the Blackhearts.

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**The Royal We**

_Chapter Two: Bad Reputation_

When Rei woke up three hours later, it was to the sound of commotion right outside the door. She immediately raised herself, rubbing at her eyes tiredly and taking a look around. Seeing the unfamiliar surroundings, she stiffened, not recognizing straightaway where she was in her foggy mind. It took her a moment or two and by then she'd noticed the voices outside the room growing closer and thus, louder.

There was a short laughter, the doorknob was turned, someone yelled out a goodbye and then Rei could hear a key being turned. The door opened and with it light from the corridor streaked into the darkened room. The petite red-head at the entrance of the room didn't see Rei right away, as her face was turned towards the other side of the room. Then, as if sensing another presence in the room, the other girl looked directly at Rei. Pleasant surprise flicked across the short girl's pretty face and for almost twenty seconds the two girls just stood there watching each other. Rei, for her part, examined the smaller girl's appearance thoroughly. Said girl was wearing a blue beanie so that a lock of orange hair hung in between her large, doe-like brown eyes. She had a small button nose and there were freckles along her cheekbones and nose. Her orange hair was long and straight, hanging limply until the middle of her back.

It was starting to get awkward and the orange-haired girl simply continued to stare as if Rei was the most fascinating thing in the world. Then, the shorter girl spoke cheerfully, "Hello there!"

"Hello," Rei responded, drawing out the word slowly. The other girl had been serious one moment and then suddenly had a huge grin on her face. It would have been creepy if the girl didn't look so friendly. "You must be my roommate, right?"

The orange-haired girl bounced happily over to the bed Rei was currently sitting on. "That's right," she said with a nod, the corners of her eyes crinkling up in a smile. "I'm Fūma Sasame," she introduced herself, sticking out her tiny hand. Rei took it after a moment's hesitation. "And you are?"

Rei gave a small smile in return. Sasame seemed like a good change from the gangsters-wannabe she'd met earlier. She was just so… bubbly. Especially compared to said wannabes, this girl was laughingly harmless.

"Mayonaka Rei."

"That's a pretty name," Sasame complimented. She sat down near the foot of Rei's bed, bringing a foot under her, and letting the other leg hang from the side of the bed. She'd basically made herself at home. It was weird to find Rei didn't particularly mind it. Curiosity shined through the petite girl's brown eyes. "When did you arrive?"

Rei turned to look at the clock on her bedside table and quickly calculated the hours. "A few hours ago."

Sasame nodded and asked, "What year are you in?"

What was it, twenty questions?

"I'm a sophomore," answered Rei, sensing no harm in telling the truth. Not that any lie she could have told would have lasted long, anyway.

"Oh my God, _really?_ That's so great, so am I!"

Rei found it odd that such a small and petite girl could already be a sophomore when she clearly looked like she could still be in Middle School, but didn't argue. She just tried to make her smile not look like a grimace. It was unsurprisingly hard – for her, anyway.

Sasame, on her high from having discovered her new roommate was in the same year as her, asked eagerly, "Have you gotten a tour of the school yet?"

The other girl shook her head 'no' and that action was met with an incredibly exaggerated gasp. Sasame jumped to her feet, both of her hands raised to her mouth in shock. Rei was lightly amused at the girl's melodramatic ways.

"Oh my God, but you absolutely need one!" squealed Sasame. She gasped again and an enlightened expression took over her face. It looked like she'd just had the greatest idea of all time. "Rei-chan," she started again and Rei fought back a wince. She _abhorred_ having that honorific added to her name. "I just need to take a quick shower, then I'll show you around, tell you everything you need to know about the school-" here Sasame shot Rei a look that was probably meant to speak volumes, but the meaning was lost on Rei, "and then you can have dinner with my friends and I!"

Rei didn't even have time to consider the offer before Sasame was running to the bathroom with a change of clothes already under her arms to what, Rei assumed, was to be her shower. She heard the shower running and sighed, somewhat still tired and actually rather overwhelmed by the bouncy Sasame. She didn't really feel up for a tour at the moment, but knew that the pros of it outweighed the cons. It would do her much good to already have an idea of where everything was tomorrow because walking around with a map all the time sounded sort of dorky. She just hoped she wouldn't run into any _unwanted_ people.

The fact that Rei hated being locked up in any sense, shape or form (it made her feel sort of claustrophobic) might have had something to do with the decision to accompany Sasame. She'd just have to watch out for those guys from before. Hidan _had_ said they weren't over yet, and she didn't even want to think of what that entailed for him. Nothing good, most definitely.

Rei rose in one fluid movement, putting the map in her jeans' back pocket and undoing her braid to run her fingers through her messy short hair. From the large bag she'd been carrying, she produced a hairbrush and tried to keep the bird's nest a bit neater. She threw the hairbrush on her bed and braided the longer locks again, knowing that if she let her hair down she'd probably scare people away. Rei blinked at that conclusion and considered unloosing the tie holding her braid in place, but then shook her head at her silly thoughts. Though she highly doubted these people Sasame was going to introduce to her later were really the type she would get on with, Rei wouldn't purposefully go out of her way to make it even harder. And Sasame didn't seem so bad; maybe her friends would be nice, too.

Ten minutes later Sasame walked out of a fuming bathroom in another outfit and her wet hair up in a ponytail. She seemed to have brightened considerably after cleaning up, which was rather disturbing as the girl had already been alarmingly cheerful before. She practically _skipped _towards Rei, picking up her purse along the way with a bright grin on her face.

Seriously, was this girl high on something? It just wasn't normal for someone to be so full of joy like that. Rei frowned at the thought, perturbed it bothered her so much. Sasame wasn't faking, that much was obvious from one look in her wide, innocent eyes, so why did it trouble her?

Rei barely noticed when Sasame linked arms with her and dragged her out of their room. It was only when she saw other girls on the corridor shooting her very unsubtle looks and then gossiping to each other from behind their hands that she awakened. She pointedly ignored all of them, but if any of them caught her eye, she shot them a very cold glare that had them turning red and stuttering up the end of their sentences. If they were going to talk about her, the least they could do was be discreet about it.

Sasame was blissfully oblivious to all of it, chattering away about who-knows-what and clinging to Rei's arm like a koala. Rei politely managed to unlink her arm from Sasame's. It was starting to get numb.

* * *

The school was huge.

Really, even more than Rei'd originally thought: it was like a medium-sized village. There was this absolutely enormous U-shaped classroom building with one wing completely devoted to all types of science and the other to arts, a massive classroom building, a dining hall with three study halls and a library (which didn't make much sense to her, but who's she to complain?), the main building with all the administrative offices, two pools, the gymnasium, the auditorium, a bunch of sports' courts, the trekking field she'd seen earlier, the dorms (obviously), dormitories for the faculty that always stayed at the school, the small woods, the gardens and a parking lot.

Seriously. It was amazing; Rei had to give them that. Absolutely incredible.

Yeah, okay, so of course she'd seen how big the school was in the map, but it seemed she'd greatly underestimated the scale which was used there. Seriously, the whole freaking campus was the size of a town! How in the world was it possible for a _school_ to be _bigger_ than her hometown? Something like that just didn't make sense.

Sasame was actually a very good tour guide, giving her tips on shortcuts and showing where most of her classes were localized. She told her about the teachers she should watch out for, and the ones who wouldn't mind if you made out with the whole class right in front of them. Rei had thought that rather sounded perverted and when she'd pointed it out, Sasame had let out a very un-lady-like snort and said that it wouldn't surprise her if some of the teachers actually ended up thinking that was a good idea. From what she said, at least two were very open perverts.

Rei found it very weird, but didn't dwell on it. It wasn't of much importance.

Besides that little comment, Rei hadn't spoken much: just a grunt to keep the conversation going every now and then and the rare short questions. Oh, alright, and maybe a few sarcastic remarks here and there. If any of it bothered Sasame, she didn't show it, talking away like they were the best of friends and mentioning her friends as if they were people Rei had known all her life. A great part of the time she just tuned the short girl out because as sweet and nice as she was, she was sort of annoying, and the few times Rei opened her mouth to ask about _those two_, in the end she couldn't find the courage to do it. For some reason, she didn't feel that would get a nice reaction.

Sasame had eventually wondered why she'd changed schools all of a sudden in the school year and Rei just fed her some stupid lie that wouldn't raise any more questions. '_Oh, you know, I had to move towns because my guardian changed jobs.' _Just as she'd expected, Sasame didn't question it any further, thankfully. Although, Rei could see Sasame was curious about the guardian's comment.

After an hour and a half of exploring, the last building waiting entered their vision, the last rays of the sunset shining from behind it. It was the dining hall, a huge one-store high brick building with grand, beautiful dark windows. It actually looked like a restaurant – a very expensive one, what else? – from the outside and Rei wouldn't be surprised if the inside was the same. Nothing to do with money in this school would shock her anymore. As it was already almost seven and Rei in particular felt like she could eat a horse – blame Ritsuko for rushing her in the morning and not giving her time to eat an entire sandwich for breakfast and skipping lunch altogether – they would have dinner and then, if they were there, Sasame could point out some people Rei should _definitely _know about.

(Rei wasn't particularly looking forward to that because hearing about which rich kid was young money, or which daddy's girl had bought the newest purse from the expensively trendy Yamanaka & Co. wasn't what she would call her piece of cake.)

Sasame'd purposefully left the dining hall for last because she knew Rei'd be starving – not for the reason of skipping lunch, but anyway – and indeed she was. Rei's stomach grumbled loudly at the thought of food, and she almost drooled when the beautiful image of a massive sandwich full of all types of ingredients she could think of entered her mind.

They reached the double-doors and walked in, Sasame silent, if at least only for a while. It didn't take Rei long to realize why once they were in: Sasame wanted to see her reaction to this _absolutely incredible, oh-my-god, is that real crystal, and holy fuck that is a freaking ice statue _place. Rei tried, she really did, _not_ to let her jaw fall completely open and her eyes bugle out and only barely managed it. Thankfully, only her eyebrows were raised and her eyes were just slightly widened so she didn't look like a complete retard. Really, the dining hall looked like a freaking classy five-star restaurant, what with its crystal chandelier, elegant dark wooden tables and discreet chintz chairs, beautiful and elaborated tablecloths, expensive silverware, dark walls and shiny floor. Rei could clearly see her own reflection on said floor.

Sasame pouted at Rei, obviously not happy with her half-hearted reaction, but quickly got over it. She took Rei by the hand and leaded the two of them towards the food line. The quirky red-head, all the while, blabbed about the way the whole 'food process' worked. You just went up to the people behind the counter and ordered whatever you wanted, and depending on how long it took to make, you waited for it to be done, or if it took more than ten minutes they delivered it to you to your table. You also could just take whatever you wanted from the self-service tables.

When their turn came – it didn't take long; there were only two people before them – Sasame didn't even give Rei time to think of what she could possibly even want before the red-head ordered, with a pretty smile on her face, enough chicken and fettuccine Alfredo for two. Rei normally would have complained, as it really made her feel uneasy having someone choose everything for her, but she didn't because she knew it would be pointless. After all, she loved that particular dish.

Their food was ready in about five minutes and Rei couldn't help but flutter her eyes closed to appreciate its smell better. It smelled absolutely wonderful and it probably would taste even better. They both picked up their trays and Sasame practically skipped ahead towards a table near the window. How no food spilled on the floor was a mystery to Rei and one she didn't dwell on much. It was mostly because her stomach was singing a constant symphony at that moment, one that included the amazing food right before her eyes. Sasame sat down and gestured for Rei to sit before her. Rei did and waited until Sasame was all settled and ready to eat, so she could start eating too. Sure, Rei was _starving_, but she had manners. Ritsuko would kill her if she looked that improper.

Rei took a first bite and had to contain herself not to moan at the deliciousness of the food. She'd never eaten such a wonderful meal, and she really wasn't exaggerating. It tasted marvelous. Rei ate in silence while Sasame babbled about every food they could have at the dining hall and how great they all were. Rei didn't really pay attention, she'd be the first to admit that, although it was mostly because she knew Sasame was only speaking so as to fill the silence and build up some tension about the '_real stuff_' she'd been dying to tell Rei from the very beginning.

Why Sasame hadn't told her already if she was so anxious about it, Rei didn't know. Maybe she was waiting until they had their stomachs full so Rei wouldn't be distracted from the importance of what she had to say?

Rei mentally rolled her eyes. That was probably it.

"-so you see, for breakfast they have these amazing chocolate pancakes that you absolutely must try! Really, they are awesome-" Sasame was saying excitedly, one bite from finishing her meal. Rei was already done, feeling very satisfied and happy. Sasame finished eating and pushed her plate gently back so she could rest her elbows on the table. She leaned over with a solemn look on her face and Rei felt her interest peak for what the red-head had to say for the first time since they'd met. Sasame was nice, of course, but she talked about _such_ pointless things that were so boring…

It was also the first time Rei was seeing her roommate without a smile on her face and that, above all else, made her curious about what she had to say. It might be important later on.

"Rei-chan," started Sasame somberly. "What I'm about to tell you is very important and something you should remember at all times. I usually wouldn't bother-"

"Sasame, have you already started gossiping about worthless things to the new girl?" an amused male voice cut the petite red-head off.

Rei tensed her shoulders instantly; wildly thinking the voice belonged to either Hidan or Kakuzu. It was stupid because both of their voices were much deeper. Hidan would have also cursed somewhere along the way and Kakuzu… hell, it just didn't belong to him. Either way, she only relaxed once she turned to face the brunet boy who had spoken and who had a casual arm slung over the scowling red-head's shoulders. Rei almost snorted. Sasame didn't look very happy to have been interrupted during her ominous warnings.

Said boy was tall, and his long, spiky dark hair was in a low ponytail. His eyes were even darker than his hair and his skin was tanned – not as much as Kakuzu's, though. Damn it! Stop thinking about them! Anyway, this boy was also rather rugged, with strong, but warm features. When he noticed her looking, he winked at her and smiled in a friendly manner. The smile fit him well.

But anyway, she was running from the real issue this little event had inspired. Damn it, it wasn't healthy to be so _wary_ – not scared, as if, right? – of those two. It was… ridiculous. Especially if she would get that jumpy whenever a male approached her, feari-no, no, _wary _of it being either of them.

That just wasn't the Rei she thought of herself as.

"Idate, don't be stupid, I wasn't 'gossiping about worthless things'! I was just about to tell her about, you know, _them_?" Sasame glowered, although not really angry. Rei supposed Sasame was just one of those people that could never get mad at anyone.

Wait, _them?_ What the hell was that supposed to mean?

Idate sobered up slightly and nodded.

"I see," he murmured to himself. Then, he let go of Sasame, and leaned on the table to rest his face on the palm of his hand, staring directly at Rei. Rei wrinkled her nose slightly. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your new friend, though?" He grinned amicably, his dark eyes never leaving her face. "Such a pretty lady… I'm Morino Idate, who are you?"

Rei was _not_ very happy that he was being so forward like that. But he _was_ Sasame's friend and looked sort of nice, so she tried to answer pleasantly, "Mayonaka Rei."

_Tried _being the key word. She ended up sounding mocking with just _two words. _And they were her_ name. _

Oh well.

"Rei, you say?" he repeated as if dreamily, oblivious to her tone. "Beautiful, wonderful name. Tell me, what do you think of -?"

"I believe that's quite enough, Idate," a soft, female voice interrupted calmly. Rei looked up gratefully, but the pretty blonde girl standing behind Idate was staring rather pointedly at the back of Idate's head. Her elfin face held a haughtiness that had obviously come from birth and her pale eyes were full of family pride.

Idate sighed dramatically in a long-suffering way but stood up and went to sit beside Rei. He none-too-discreetly brought his chair closer to Rei's. Rei sighed too, irritated and moved her chair away, this time not caring about manners.

Idate and Sasame pretended they didn't notice, but the blonde's eyes were overbearingly disdainful when they met Rei's. Rei completely ignored the glare of doom sent her way.

"You spoiled all the fun, Shion!" Idate whined at the blonde girl. Shion didn't bother with an answer and walked around Sasame who beamed at her. Shion's snobbish face warmed considerably and she smiled back, wandering towards the empty seat beside Sasame. The easy grace with which Shion walked was enviable. It was like a ballerina's.

Shion was probably one of the prettiest girls Rei had ever seen, unfortunately. Her pale blonde hair was long and shiny, her bangs combed perfectly over her forehead. She had dull violet eyes and snow-white skin, but the superiority with which she looked at Rei was infuriating. There was annoyance on her face when she sat down, her eyes set anywhere but at Rei. Rei felt surprisingly light towards Shion's obvious enmity.

Both new-comers didn't look any older than Rei and those were people she'd have placed as sophomore students, rather than Sasame. Seeing as the three were obviously friends, Idate and Shion probably were in the same year as the two roommates.

"Anyway, _can_ I speak now?" Sasame cut in before any other exchange could take place. "You guys know that what I have to tell Rei-chan is really important!"

Rei didn't miss the slight scowl on Shion's face when the red-haired girl addressed Rei with such an intimate honorific. Rei almost snorted at the blonde's ill-disguised jealousy.

"So, as I was saying," continued Sasame as if she'd never stopped. "I usually wouldn't bother with telling any new students about, you know, _this,_ but I like you, Rei-chan," – insert hopeful smile from red-head, deeper scowl from blonde, tight smile from raven and dreamy look from brunet towards raven – "and I want things for you to work out." Rei frowned at that, a slight uneasiness creeping in. Sasame was acting way too serious for her to be lying – not that she thought the red-head was even _capable_ of it – so if she was telling the truth, whatever the dark-haired girl was about to be told was of great significance. Sasame could be hyperbolizing, but Rei had a feeling she wasn't, and whatever it was had ruined things for other students. She felt like groaning out loud. Shit, this was just _great._

"As I'm sure you know, every high school has its different types of people. Most people in _here_ are never what they really seem. Usually, it's because _this_ place changes them, and sometimes by the end of their first week here, they find themselves completely different from what they were before. It's very hard for the change to be good, you know, so it's also very difficult to find people you can actually trust. Almost everyone here has second intentions, even those who look really sweet and harmless. There are good people here, don't get me wrong, they are just a minority. And, of course, there's always a dominating group. They are the ones that dictate the rules, that can get away with almost anything. They are the ones the other students, lower on the social ladder, are afraid of, but still idolize. These people are the most powerful on the school and they are all just… amazing, I guess, and I don't really mean it in the good sense. They always get what they want and whoever opposes to them, just… never gets the chance to do so again." Sasame took a deep breath and Rei had her brow furrowed so deeply she wondered if it would ever go back to normal. Why couldn't Hidan and Kakuzu get out of her head? Sasame kept going.

"I would recommend for you to find a nice group to settle in – hint: us! I'm joking; you can choose whoever you want." Rei didn't think she looked like she was really kidding, but anyway. "The students in here are like sharks and if you're alone, it's much easier for them to prey on you. But what you absolutely must _not_ do is get under the radar of the dominating groups. Yes, group_s_ because there are more than one. Three, actually. They have judged _everyone_ on this school, and all new students are judged too. They will brand you and if you're lucky, you'll be safe, but you can just as easily be doomed. They usually go after the ones that have actually done something to them, but sometimes even that is not necessary. Unfortunately, because they are in three, if you screw it up with one of them, most often than not, you've screwed it up with the other two, too. Besides new students, most of the high and mighty don't really bother with anyone but themselves. Unless you're already a target. There's a particular group of students that are never left alone. These three are sort of… enemies, I guess you could say; always getting into fights.

"Everyone on these three groups is dangerous. Some look dangerous straight on, others like to pretend they're kind, innocent kids and some use their beauty to entice you. All are people you should just stay away from; no good will come from them. If they prey on you, you can't escape. They will destroy you emotionally and depending on the situation, physically. There are even some girls in there that don't mind breaking their nails. And some boys don't really care about hurting girls, either."

Rei wasn't sure of what to feel. It wasn't that the prospect of getting into fights that scared her – though that was definitely something she had to stay away from, with Ritsuko on mind – because from where she'd come from fights happened from time to time. Okay, all the time, however they got punished. But from what Sasame'd just said, these people could fuck you up as much as they wanted and nothing would happen to them. That wasn't very comforting. None of this seemed like what she'd been expecting this school to be like; she had thought this was going to be a normal high school with stuck-up kids, sure, and the popular kids, yeah. But not _this_, if things were as bad as Sasame was making them out to be. One thing she'd been glad for when she had had to move was that everything would be much more peaceful. Rei hadn't liked – and still didn't – that it would be full of snobs, but at least it would be different and definitely not worse than what she was used to. If these people from the _dominating groups_ were anything like Hidan and Kakuzu, then –

Hold on a second. _Hidan and Kakuzu._

Oh God. It wasn't true, right? Life couldn't possibly be screwing her over like that, right? It just wouldn't be fair. Had she really been such an awful person up until now? All Rei wanted was peace and quiet, _not_ more drama!

Rei tried to be optimistic. Maybe Hidan and Kakuzu weren't even part of any of these groups. Maybe they were just passing by! _Yeah right_, she snorted pitifully to herself. She'd heard the way Hidan had spoken; he'd been surprised she didn't know who he was, he hadn't had any qualms with being violent towards a girl, his beauty had without a doubt enticed her… Both he and Kakuzu had oozed power and confidence and Rei had to admit right now she'd never been so afraid of two people before. If they weren't part of these groups and were as dangerous-looking as that, she didn't like to think what the ones that _were_ part were like.

None of her three companions seemed to notice her inner chaos. Shion still had her eyes firmly upon Sasame, Idate looked like this was the first time he was also hearing about this if his open mouth was any indication, occasionally becoming starry-eyed at her and Sasame was drinking a glass of water to soothe her dry throat. They all looked so ridiculously inoffensive, Rei wondered how being in a group such as theirs could be used as protection. But then again, she'd heard what Sasame said. Maybe they were to be included in the people who weren't what they looked like and had second intentions. It didn't look like it, but who knew?

Sasame put her glass down and cleared her throat.

"So, for greater effect I suppose, these three groups have named themselves. They are the Oto, Konoha and Akatsuki. I know they're weird names, but you shouldn't underestimate them because of that. Oto is the most violent… _gang,_ I guess you could call it. Anyone who provokes them, gets in their way or is just plain unlucky when they are bored will suffer. Usually and most likely physically. More than one person has been sent to the hospital because of them. Not that anyone has proof, of course, and not that these kids actually tell, but we know. Random kids getting their asses kicked is always Oto's job. The more gentle-hearted don't survive near them; they bully everyone they want to.

"The Konoha kids are the youngest, most of them in our year actually, but no less dangerous because of that. The only time they get into fights is against Oto and Akatsuki. They hurt people randomly, not that any of the older students here aren't afraid. They might be young, but don't you underestimate them for that. Konoha usually messes with people's feelings. They manipulate you and use you, all the while pretending they're your best friends, just misunderstood little kids with good intentions, then kick you aside like yesterday's trash, feeling broken and humiliated." There seemed to be way too much emotion in Sasame's voice. Rei wondered why that was. "They are also the largest gang, so their range of emotion-playing is pretty big.

"_Then_ there is the Akatsuki. They are kind of like the middle ground between Konoha and Oto, and I don't mean it like they're the peaceful ones. Definitely not. They will lead you on for their own purposes, but they can also resort to physical violence. But they… they pick targets. If you're the next in line, you'll suffer until they get what they want with it. They plan it all, they scheme ways to destroy the ones they choose. They don't need provocation, but if you _do_ anger them it'll be ten times worse. More than any other, the Akatsuki uses their beauty to lure their victims. I've seen the way they work; it's terrible. And if someone gets in the way of their prey, believe me; this person won't be here on the next day," Sasame finished, uncharacteristically sad.

Rei leaned back on her chair, her arms crossed over her chest. All of this sounded even worse than before now that she'd heard what these people were capable of. How there were still so many students in Senju Academy when they were all probably continuously afraid of being picked as one of the gangs' next target was beyond her. This was insanity; Rei even knew the principal and couldn't understand how she let these people wander about. Although Sasame had said they knew how to get away; they probably all worked in underhanded ways.

What made her the most apprehensive though, was that the descriptions Sasame had given seemed to fit Hidan and Kakuzu more and more as the red-head continued speaking. Rei was ninety-five per cent sure those two were part of one of these groups. Probably Oto or Akatsuki, as they didn't look particularly young. Hell, they almost looked like they could be out of school already.

She could feel the other three's gazes on her face, waiting for a reaction, but the truth was that she still had no idea of what to say. What was one supposed to say after hearing all that? '_Oh my God, I'm so scared, will you protect me'?_ There simply was no way in hell she'd ever say such a thing. She could be as scared as a little fish surrounded by sharks – this metaphor felt like it was going to fit her very well soon enough – but she was _not_ going to ask for help.

Instead, Rei made a question.

"Do you know who Hidan and Kakuzu are?"

Their response was immediate. Sasame choked on the water she was drinking, Idate's hand slipped from the position it was holding his face up making his head almost hit the table and Shion's eyes almost fell out of their sockets from how wide they got.

There was a moment's pause.

"How – how do you know those names?" squeaked Sasame, coughing right after from the water that'd gone down the wrong pipe.

Rei felt rather uncomfortable and tried not to show it. They were all looking at her as if she'd just told them she was a ninja from an alternative universe. This was just proof that her suspicions were right; her fists closed tightly and she bit down on her lip hard.

Some god up there must really hate her.

Rei grimaced. "I… I met them earlier today."

Sasame inhaled loudly and Idate cursed under his breath. Shion's face was back to its prideful manner.

Rei's roommate closed her eyes briefly as if in great pain and begged softly, "Please… _please_, Rei-chan, tell me it was a friendly encounter."

Rei uncrossed her arms to swipe her bangs back from her face. They instantly went back to their place before her eyes. From the way Sasame was speaking the whole meeting now looked much worse than she'd originally considered and _that_ was saying something. Maybe the fear she'd scolded herself for was not as ill-placed as she'd thought. It seemed like she'd just signed her death sentence.

Damn it. _What have I gotten myself into?_

"If you count punching Hidan in the face 'friendly', then by all means we became the best of friends," she confessed sarcastically.

"_No!_" Sasame practically screeched in dismay making the growing population in the dining hall look their way. Rei slipped slightly on her chair. Even Shion looked rather worried after she'd shot Rei a dirty look for being rude to Sasame, though Rei doubted the worry was actually for _her_.

Idate looked stricken between awe and fright. "_Hidan?_ You punched _Hidan?_" he exclaimed, disbelieving, but Rei could hear the reverence in his voice. "You're doomed," he claimed after a short shocked silence. Rei's heart sank.

"Am I really in such a deep shit?" Rei wondered, trying to be hopeful and failing miserably. How could she have screwed up so badly? Ritsuko had even warned her, dammit, so why hadn't she _listened_?

Sasame giggled hysterically. "Don't worry, Rei-chan! It's not that bad!" She giggled again and Rei feared for her sanity. Sasame sounded mad, right then. "By morning, he will probably have forgotten all about it! It's going to be okay; it's nothing you should be worried about."

Rei couldn't even gather the strength to feel hopeful. She sighed heavily. "Before he left, he said 'this isn't over'." It already felt demeaning to tell them Hidan had controlled her future so easily, but it would have been even worse if she'd told them he'd called her a bitch, which was why she omitted that part. Sasame's fake optimism also made her sick.

"Shit," Idate swore, his eyes closed. Shion sent him a reproachful glare that he didn't see. It made her feel slightly better to see Shion was getting ignored.

Oh God. How pathetic.

"You really fucked it up," Idate declared. He winced. "I wouldn't want to be in your place right now."

Rei rolled her eyes at his lack of tact, but surprisingly, she realized she could breathe easier. She pushed her chair back swiftly, determination shining through her eyes, and the three looked at her startled. She rolled her eyes again; it's like they thought she was about to have a mental breakdown. Hmpf, as if.

Alright, maybe later. When she was alone.

"This will be all over the school before the end of the night," Idate was saying, shaking his head. Then, he perked up as if he'd just remembered something. "He didn't call you a whore, bitch or something else along those lines?"

Sasame shot him a glare. "That's an awful thing to ask," she reprimanded, then turned to Rei with an apologetic expression on her pixie face, "There's no need to answer that, Rei-chan."

Rei blinked slowly and shook her head. Guess offending people was Hidan's daily routine. What a nice guy. "I'm leaving," she announced, standing up and when Sasame made a move to stand up too, the raven shook her head. "Don't bother. Stay here; we'll see each other later." She gazed at Idate and Shion fleetingly and grimaced/smiled at them. "Nice meeting you."

Rei turned on her heels and left the dining hall as quickly as she could without drawing much attention. It was futile, of course, because whenever anyone entered the dining hall, it didn't take long for Rei to feel eyes on the back of her head. Or her face. It was annoying to have so many people staring so unabashedly at her; couldn't they at least _pretend_ they weren't so curious?

When she finally reached the exit, the moment the doors closed behind her, Rei groaned loudly in despair. Really, it was just her luck she'd end up pissing off one of the most dangerous guys in the new school she'd just moved to. And what were the chances that this school, full of rich kids who were supposed to only care about stupid things like expensive clothes, ended up being one with all this mess? It should have been a normal school, slightly amplified by the money, not the Underworld!

And for God's sake, since when defending your own honor backfired this way?

Rei took a deep, steadying breath, trying to calm herself down. As always, she was already freaking out before anything even happened. Hidan may have said things weren't over, but that didn't necessarily mean he was going to screw her over.

Yeah right and Kakuzu was a fluffy little bunny. Dammit, couldn't she go one second without the two of them coming up in her mind? She was getting ridiculously irritated at herself.

Anyway, it wasn't like there was any way out of this shit now. She'd just have to be prepared for tomorrow and not let these people push her around. Even if her situation wasn't exactly ideal right now, if it was necessary, she wasn't going to act like a frightened little girl who couldn't look after herself. She was going to have to find a way to defend herself without violence though, because Ritsuko wouldn't stand for it.

And she'd made Rei promise she wouldn't get into fights and while the black-haired girl didn't have any immediate plans to break it, if it was necessary…

Needing something to tame her nerves, Rei reached into her front pocket and slipped a longish cylinder in between her index and middle finger to rest it on her lips. With her now free hand, she put her hand back inside her pocket, but this time it came off with a small, black lighter, immediately igniting it and lighting her cigarette. She took a long drag and exhaled, feeling like she was letting off years of pent up anger, frustration and fear. It wasn't like smoking in the school was allowed, but as long as the staff didn't see anything, what was the harm? Well, her lungs were being harmed, but then again that was _her_ problem.

After finishing, she stepped on the remaining stub of cigarette, her lighter back in place and continued her way towards the dorms, this time much more relaxed. Rei decided she'd start to unpack – it would have to be done some time… – and then just go to bed right away because she had a feeling she was going to need all the energy she could gain tomorrow. If what Sasame had said was anything to go by, a very busy day lay ahead of her.

* * *

_A/N:_ Well, here is the second chapter! Hope it lived up to you guys' expectations. If you have any questions, feel free to ask. Oh, and I know that the anime- and movies-only characters are being rather OOC. Except for the Sasame arc, I've watched it all, so I'm sort of just playing with them and dramatizing their personalities a bit. I hope it's not much of a bother (:

Ok, so thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!

_vicca_


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